News Dump for Apr. 26, 2024

US

Yale – Lax antitrust enforcement linked to rising hospital prices
A new study co-authored by Yale economist Zack Cooper links rising prices for hospital care to lax antitrust enforcement.
https://news.yale.edu/2024/04/24/lax-antitrust-enforcement-linked-rising-hospital-prices

Courthouse News – Colorado judge sentences serial suer to 12 years in prison
A jury in March found Brett Nelson guilty of criminal extortion, conspiracy and retaliation using legal tactics popularized by the sovereign citizen movement.
https://www.courthousenews.com/colorado-judge-sentences-serial-suer-to-12-years-in-prison/

FT – Trump Media’s auditor is really bad at spelling his own name
The founder of the accounting firm hired by Donald Trump’s social media group has used 14 variations of his name in filings with the industry regulator, far more than any other US auditor, according to a review of public documents.
https://www.ft.com/content/2556fab5-d168-4d68-aedb-9be4b5ab739d

Reuters – Tabloid publisher says he wrangled with Trump over who should buy sex stories
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified at Donald Trump’s criminal trial on Thursday that he wrangled with Trump and his former lawyer ahead of the 2016 election over who should buy the silence of women who said they had sexual encounters with him.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/hush-money-testimony-expected-focus-100141718.html

AP – USC cancels graduation ceremony and dozens are arrested on other campuses as anti-war protests grow
The University of Southern California canceled its main graduation ceremony and dozens more college students were arrested at other campuses nationwide Thursday as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to spread.
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-war-campus-protests-fbd7dd06431f32d24d0f8abcc8a56b8b

MNSBC/Reidout – WATCH: ‘Exposed’: Republican SCOTUS justices doing ‘everything in their power to protect Trump’ expert says
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Donald Trump’s claim of absolute presidential immunity on Thursday, with his lawyer suggesting that this could include actions like staging a military coup or ordering political assassinations—an argument widely deemed absurd.
https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/watch/trump-s-immunity-claim-arguments-heard-by-supreme-court-209739333613

The Nation/Elie Mystal – The Supreme Court’s 5 Male Justices Are Fully in the Tank for Trump
During the former president’s immunity hearing, Roberts & Co. made clear that they’re going to do everything they can to delay Trump’s criminal reckoning.
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/supreme-court-trump-immunity-hearing/

Daily Beast – Sonia Sotomayor Shreds Claim President Can Kill Political Rivals With Immunity
“Immunity says, even if you did it for personal gain, we won’t hold you responsible. How could that be?” asked Justice Sotomayor.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/sonia-sotomayor-shreds-claim-president-can-kill-political-rivals-with-immunity

The Hill – CNN anchor presses Trump lawyer on Kagan military coup questioning
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins pressed an attorney for former President Trump on a line of questioning by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan in the former president’s presidential immunity case at the Supreme Court Thursday.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4623009-cnn-anchor-presses-trump-lawyer-on-kagan-military-coup-questioning/

Reuters – ByteDance would shut down TikTok in US rather than sell it, sources say
App’s ‘secret source’ algorithm reportedly core to operations of parent company, which sources say make a sale highly unlikely.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/25/bytedance-shut-down-tiktok-than-sell

WAPO – New channel lets long-trapped ships escape from Baltimore Harbor
Some of the biggest ships trapped behind the wreckage of Baltimore’s Key Bridge can finally escape, as a new, deeper temporary channel opened Thursday for carefully choreographed journeys in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/25/baltimore-channel-bridge-ships-escape/

Oh Alabama. Keepin’ it trashy as usual.
The Hill – Bill that could lead to prosecution of librarians advances in Alabama House
The bill, approved 72-28 by the Alabama House of Representatives, will now move to the state Senate. It removes existing exemptions for public libraries in the state’s obscenity law and is part of a larger nationwide effort to ban books.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4622940-bill-that-could-lead-to-prosecution-of-librarians-advances-in-alabama-house/

Leave women alone damnit!
NPR – 17 states challenge federal rules entitling workers to accommodations for abortion
Republican attorneys general from 17 states filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging new federal rules entitling workers to time off and other accommodations for abortions, calling the rules an illegal interpretation of a 2022 federal law.
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/25/1247366138/eeoc-rules-abortion-accommodations-states-challenge

Courthouse News – Lawmakers urge DEA to pick up the pace on marijuana scheduling review
While the Department of Health and Human Services recommended last summer that cannabis no longer be considered a Schedule I controlled substance, the DEA historically has demurred from taking that step.
https://www.courthousenews.com/lawmakers-urge-dea-to-pick-up-the-pace-on-marijuana-scheduling-review/

NYT – Ex-F.B.I. Lawyer Who Criticized Trump Says Bureau Failed to Warn Her About Stalker
A man who pleaded guilty to stalking the lawyer, Lisa Page, had been discharged from the Marines after expressing an obsession with her as well as mass shootings, information that was shared with the F.B.I.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/us/politics/lisa-page-john-perez-stalker.html

CBS – Columbia students file civil rights complaint against school amid protests. Here are the accusations.
A group of Columbia University students on Thursday filed a federal civil rights complaint against the school, accusing the university of discriminating against Palestinian students and pro-Palestinian protesters. The organization Palestine Legal says they are representing four students and the student group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine in the complaint filed with the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/columbia-university-student-protests-civil-rights-complaint/

More on the perils and pitfalls of AI.
NPR – A Baltimore teacher is accused of using AI to make his boss appear racist
A Maryland high school athletic director is facing criminal charges after police say he used artificial intelligence to duplicate the voice of Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert, leading the community to believe Eiswert said racist and antisemitic things about teachers and students.
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/26/1247237175/baltimore-ai-generated-racist-audio-crime

WORLD

Guardian – ‘Selfless and strong’: memorial honours World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Gaza
José Andrés, founder of organisation, told mourners gathered at Washington National Cathedral how the loss of his staff ‘should inspire us to do better’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/26/world-central-kitchen-workers-killed-gaza-war-palestine-memorital

Politico – US preparing to announce $6B in weapons contracts for Ukraine
The package could be finalized and announced as soon as Friday, and will include Patriot systems.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/25/us-weapons-contract-ukraine-00154450

AP – Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from the front lines over Russian drone threats
Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press.
https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-abrams-tanks-19d71475d427875653a2130063a8fb7a

WAPO – Israeli war cabinet resumes discussions on hostage deal, official says, as Rafah invasion looms
Israel’s war cabinet met Thursday to discuss hostage deal negotiations, according to an Israeli official speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. The meeting comes ahead of a planned Israeli incursion in Rafah, where much of Gaza’s population has been displaced.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/26/israel-hamas-war-news-gaza-palestine/#link-GOYLVXTGGZGNPJ73Z3OWT725TQ

BBC – Two British men charged with helping Russian intelligence
Dylan Earl, 20, from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire, and Jake Reeves, 22, from Croydon, were investigated following a fire at a warehouse in east London in March. Three other suspects linked to the fire have been held on other charges.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68899130

SCIENCE

CNN – Boeing and NASA decide to move forward with historic crewed launch of new spacecraft
After years of delays and a dizzying array of setbacks during test flights, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is finally set to make its inaugural crewed launch. The mission is on track to take off from Florida as soon as May 6, carrying NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station, marking what could be a historic and long-awaited victory for the beleaguered Starliner program.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/25/world/boeing-starliner-launch-spacex-delays-scn/index.html

TEXAS

Leave her the fuck alone!
AP – Crystal Mason: Prosecutors want a reversal after a Texas woman’s voter fraud conviction was overturned
Prosecutors in Texas asked the state’s highest criminal appeals court on Thursday to reverse a ruling that overturned a Fort Worth woman’s voter fraud conviction and five-year prison term for casting an illegal provisional ballot.
https://apnews.com/article/crystal-mason-texas-voter-fraud-overturned-9467f5aedfb02dbf57d3365ee874e36a

Texas Tribune – New reporting requirements for life-saving abortions worry some doctors
Doctors who perform life-saving abortions may soon be required to document whether they first tried to transfer the patient to another facility to avoid terminating the pregnancy, a move some say goes beyond the language of the law. Health lawyers and doctors worry this proposed requirement further disincentivizes doctors from performing medically necessary, but legally risky, abortions.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/texas-medical-board-abortion/

Lone Star Left – The Police State Of Texas
Greg Abbott’s embrace of authoritarianism paints a picture where no one in Texas is safe.
https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/the-police-state-of-texas

Texas Tribune – Most cases against UT-Austin protesters dropped
The Travis County attorney dropped 46 charges after 57 people were arrested at a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/ut-austin-palestinian-arrests-criminal-cases/

MISC

The Conversation – Arizona’s 1864 abortion law was made in a women’s rights desert – here’s what life was like then
https://theconversation.com/arizonas-1864-abortion-law-was-made-in-a-womens-rights-desert-heres-what-life-was-like-then-227752

CW/Child Abuse
NBC – 11-year-old Nevada boy with autism kept in metal cage at home; parents charged with child abuse
A Nevada couple were arrested Tuesday after authorities found their 11-year-old son with autism held in a metal cage, wearing only a diaper with feces smeared on its floor. The boy’s school contacted police requesting help with a “truancy issue,” which led officers to perform a wellness check at his home.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/11-year-old-nevada-boy-autism-kept-metal-cage-home-parents-charged-chi-rcna149375

SF Gate – California-based Kaiser to notify millions after possibly exposing user data to tech companies
Kaiser Permanente, the Oakland-based health care conglomerate, is warning millions of customers that one of its divisions may have exposed their names, symptom searches and other data to major tech companies.
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/kaiser-data-breach-millions-companies-19423543.php